1. A note from CBCN Executive Director
2. Message from Ahmed Djoghlaf
3. Plant conservation in a changing world
4. Preparing to Launch the North American Botanic Gardens Conservation Strategy
5. Biodiversity, climate change, and cultural diversity
6. The urgent need for biodiversity information
7. Adapting to a Changing World
8. The Canadian University Biodiversity Consortium and a new biodiversity center at the Montréal Botanical Garden
9. Stopping the Green Invasion! Memorial University of Newfoundland Botanical Garden Takes Aim at Invasive Alien Species
10. What's Coming Up at CITES CoP 14
11. Letter from Wuhan: A report on the Third Global Botanic Gardens Congress
12. The Montréal Botanical Garden Formally Reinforces its Commitment to Biodiversity Conservation, and hosts a Wollemi Pine
13. Meeting of the Canadian Pollination Protection Initiative
14. Summer is around the corner. Make it count!
15. First Sustainability Camp: a Success
16. Earth Day Celebration at UBC Botanical Garden

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If you would like to subscribe, have any questions or if would like to contribute a news item, please contact Yann Vergriete, newsletter editor or David Gailbraith, CBCN executive director:

yannvergriete@fastmail.fm
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dgalbraith@rbg.ca
(905) 527-1158 ext. 309

14. Summer is around the corner. Make it count! Join the Pollination Canada Buzz, Valérie Girard, Seeds of Diversity Canada

Seventy percent of our food crops need insects for pollination. Most wild plants, and small animals that eat seeds, could not survive without them. Not only bees and butterflies; there are over 1000 species of pollinating insects in Canada! Unfortunately, these beneficial insects are under pressure from loss of habitat, loss of food sources, disease, pesticides, and there is a growing concern about what impact climate change will have on insect pollinators. As insect populations are threatened, so are fruit and vegetable production, as well as the wild ecosystems that depend on these pollinators. Information is needed now, so that steps can be taken to preserve pollinator populations.

To address an alarming lack of appreciation and knowledge about native bee species and other pollinators, Seeds of Diversity Canada and Environment Canada’s Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network Coordinating Office (EMANCO) have embarked on a joint venture to create a new citizen science program that engages the Canadian public to participate in Canada’s largest survey of insect pollinators.

The Pollination Canada Program
People want to get involved in conserving insect pollinators and their habitat, but often don’t know how. Pollination Canada provides tools for Canadians to make a difference.

The heart of the program is actual monitoring of insect populations and diversity. By observing pollinators in gardens, local parks, along country roads (basically anywhere flowers are growing), and then sending in these observations, Pollination Canada participants help scientists to better understand the crucial relationships between pollinators, ecosystems, plant diversity, and human activity.

The Pollinator Observer’s Manual and other training material are offered free of charge on the Pollination Canada website, www.pollinationcanada.ca.

A Strong Network
Pollination Canada is a network of educational, agricultural, and environmental institutions across Canada who leads the way in pollinator education and conservation.

The goal for this year is to join efforts with at least 50 partners from across Canada who will offer Pollination Canada educational materials to their staff, volunteers, members, and visitors, and also integrate the Pollination Canada program in their programs when possible.

Pollination Canada Partners already include a number of renowned organisations such as: Green Teacher, Evergreen, Everdale, the Ottawa River Institute, the Ontario Beekeepers Association, RARE, Science North, Wings of Paradise, the Xerces Society, and many more.

Become a Pollination Canada Partner
By taking the pollination protection challenge and becoming a Pollination Canada Partner, your organization can also lead the way in pollinator education and conservation.

Pollination Canada Partners receive free program and training materials, free educational materials, a subscription to the Pollination Canada e-newsletter, are listed on the Pollination Canada website as a Pollination Canada Partner, and much more.

Interested? Contact the Pollination Canada staff (see contact information below).

Create a Buzz for International Pollinator Week
Pollination Canada encourages individuals, businesses and organizations to plan an event or workshop for International Pollinator Week, June 24-30.

An International Pollination Week Flyer has been made available for all to use as a template to advertise events or workshops (see www.pollinationcanada.ca).

Pollination Canada engages itself to advertise events in the Pollination Canada e-Newsletter, on the Pollination Canada website, and include it in the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign list of International Pollinator Week events (www.pollinator.org/pollinator_week.htm).

Many events have already been scheduled across Canada – it’s time to plan yours!

Contact
Pollination Canada
c/o Seeds of Diversity
P.O. Box 36, Station Q
Toronto, ON M4T 2L7

P: 1-866-509-7333
E: info@pollinationcanada.ca
W: www.pollinationcanada.ca